The present invention relates to a direct-flame fuel cell which uses a cell that is configured in such a manner that a solid electrolyte is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode.
Among various types of fuel cells is a direct-flame fuel cell in which power is generated by placing a cell inside or in the vicinity of a flame and thereby exposing the anode side to the flame, the cell being configured in such a manner that a solid electrolyte is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode. This type of direct-flame fuel cell is disclosed in JP-A-2004-139936.
Since the anode is directly exposed to a flame, the direct-flame fuel cell can generate power in a simple and easy way and enables miniaturization of a fuel cell module in which cells are combined as desired. Furthermore, with a high degree of freedom of fuel selection, it is expected that the direct-flame fuel cell will be applied to various uses.
In the direct-flame fuel cell, since the surface of the anode of the cell is directly exposed to a flame during power generation, a large amount of soot is attached to the anode depending on the time of exposure to the flame. The soot that is attached to the anode is a cause of deteriorating the power generation performance of the cell to a large extent over time.